So, Prez Hopeful Barack Obama has officially declared his denouncement of Rev. Wright and all the inflammatory things he seems to stand for. At first, Obama simply wanted to distance himself from the Rev. and denounce some of the statements that Wright had made in certain sermons (sermons which were the broadcast all over the internet for everyone to pick up and analyze full force). However, as Wright began to make the media rounds stage conferences and appearing at the National Press Club- smug, even more outspoken, and with members of the Nation of Islam behind him, Obama had to cut the tie that binds.

But is it too late? Does Obama’s sudden shift away from his pastor making him look like a “flip flopper” in the vein of a John Kerry or other failed candidates of the past who couldn’t make up their minds and stick to something?

And what prompted Wright to come out in so flamboyant a fashion as to even further distance himself from the image Obama had been trying to paint of him as a gentle, thoughtful, peaceful man who simply got caught up on occation, in the strife of the past?

Some propose that Wright felt hurt that Obama was so vocally outspoken against various messages that Wright had put forth in his sermons, and so saw this acting out as a way to express his dissatisfaction. Still others propose that it’s a conspiracy hatched by the Clinton camp, bringing Wright into their fold on the down-low, while having him do maximum damage to Obama’s image. I can’t help but find that second one a little far fetched- but politics is dirty bloody business, and anything is possible.

So it just remains to be seen what will come of all this hoopla, but hey, the candidates probably don’t have too much to worry about. After all, the American public seems much more worries about Miley Cyrus.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I guess you could call this the war at home.
As violence increases in the city not 20 mins (to an hour or more depending on traffic) from my home, the best answer the local government can come up with- is even more guns on the streets.

Chicago Police SWAT teams are already equipped with M4 carbines, but rank-and-file officers are out-gunned. They’re only allowed to carry pistols. When you’re up against a street gang member armed with an AK-47, that’s like taking a BB-gun to a battle.

Used by the U.S. Marine Corps, the M4 is an assault rifle that fires more shots in less time than a conventional handgun. The fully automatic version can fire up to 1,000 rounds a minute, although the magazines hold 20 to 30 shots.

Last week, police arrested a man suspected of using an AK-47 during a shoot-out with police just after he allegedly used the gun to kill a man at a South Side plumbing business.

In October 2006, police were in a shoot-out with three gang members they thought were on their way to carry out a gang hit. Police fired at the men after one of the suspects raised an AK-47 at them. Some of the officers were armed with assault weapons and shotguns. Two of the suspects were killed.

Of course, this spawns many questions:

How did these individuals get their hands on ak-47s?
Couldn’t this just prompt violent offenders to seek the next level of fire power to combat police armed with semi-auto to automatic weapons?

Granted, there has been a big increase in violence, specifically gang related shootings reported in the past week or so, and people are looking for any reason to explain the increase, from increases in temperature (allowing for more outdoor extracurricular activity they say), to ease of procuring weapons, and lack of police presence aside from cameras on street corners.

But one has to wonder if returning the streets of Chicago to a warzone like state of readiness/weariness is the way to go.  The last time gang activities saw this kind’ve response in the city- booze was being trafficked and sold illegally, and the government was notoriously corrupt.

Now the switch has been made from booze (now legal) to drugs (still not) but the government is still questionable (though now for more white collar dealings and frauds, and not turning blind eyes and being in league with the gangs). 

High school dropouts are high, the U.S. education system at large is years behind other developed countries, absentee parenting is rampant as recession falls hardest on the ever shrinking middle class and leaves the lower class needing to hold multiple jobs if there’s even a hope of holding onto homes and keeping food in the fridge, drug use continues to be criminalized at a rate that is ill-fitting given the “crime” itself of using- leaving many in a ”justice” system that sees 1 of every 100 adults in the U.S. imprisoned coming out far worse off in life than they ever could’ve been with treatment and education on addiction rather than mandatory minimum sentencing and fines, and let us just all face it- times are tough and getting tougher, with no end in sight…

So now here we are with a plan some are calling Mayor Daley’s surge.  As I’d like to hope we’ve seen in Iraq, force is not an answer to a problem, when the problem itself is hardly understood.  We have to dig into the roots of our social ills if we want to seek peace.  Of course, we could just spend years and billions barricading off areas of our cities, setting up check points, and having heavily armed roaming patrols on duty 24/7 from now until an unforeseeable future, lord knows we’re good at that.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Hey all you soldiers out there! Mandatory Christianity isn’t ok. And if you don’t think it’s happening in the military, take a second look:

Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers.

It seems strange, right? I mean… we’re a country of equality. Especially religious equality. But it’s amazing how little discrimination can be felt if you’re Christian too. Try spending a few days in the military as an Atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, or Jew.

Complaints include prayers “in Jesus’ name” at mandatory functions, which violates military regulations, and officers proselytizing subordinates to be “born again.”

hmmm…. sounds familiar in most units. Mandatory prayer on the unit level and in major functions. To be chastised for non-participation in prayers and religious events isn’t a shock.

Kudos for Spc. Hall for having the guts to take action against Commanders who push their personal beliefs on enlisted soldiers.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Yes, so it would seem.  The Bush admin released photographic evidence of a nuclear reactor built in Syria, reportedly with the aid of N. Korea, who for most of the Bush Presidency was considered under the rule of Kim Jong-Il to be a terrorist state, dangerous to the world… while also being largely ignored and un-f**ked with, because it was known that unlike say… Iraq?… N. Korea actually had the weapons capabilities to seriously attack the U.S. at any given moment.  We’re talking nukes here people.

That stance had been softening as of last year as the Bush admin worked to secure some sort of deal with N. Korea that would see the N. Korean gov’t disclosing all nuclear activities and to an extent de-arming, and the U.S. in exchange lightening up on sanctions and possibly beginning to work with the country.

The crucial question now is how the North Koreans will react. Some officials said they hoped it would embarrass the North Koreans into admitting to nuclear proliferation activities and others said that it could prompt them to walk away from the negotiating table - and collapse the deal Bush was hoping to reach by the end of his presidency. In return for North Korea’s declaring all its nuclear activities, the United States would lift sanctions and begin to negotiate the prize for North Korea’s turning over its fuel and weapons.

It also raises the possibility of new tensions with Syria, as the White House accused the Syrian government on Thursday of a “cover-up” consistent with a government that “supports terrorism, takes action that destabilizes Lebanon” and allows militants to enter Iraq.

Only selected pictures were released by the intelligence agencies on Thursday, including a video that combined still photos and drawings and had a voice-over that gave the presentation the feel of a Cold War news reel about the Korean War. In fact, it was intended in part, officials said, to try to draw that war - in which the United States and North Korea never signed a peace treaty - to a close.

Inside the administration, the battle over whether to try to strike a deal with North Korea or keep it under sanctions in hopes of triggering its collapse continues into the last months of the Bush presidency.

At the CIA, Admiral Michael Hayden, the agency’s director, told employees Thursday that they should “take heart because our team effort on the Al Kibar reactor is a case study in rigorous analytic tradecraft, skillful human and technical collection, and close collaboration.”

But even this victory, some experts note, raises questions about the agency’s focus. The reactor was built within 100 miles, or 160 kilometers, of the Iraqi border yet never identified, even though the administration was searching for any form of such weapons programs over the border.

Moreover, even some senior officials of the Bush administration acknowledge that they are likely to leave Bush’s successor with a North Korea that has roughly 10 nuclear weapons or fuel for weapons, up from the one or two weapons that Bush inherited.

“I’d say the score is Kim Jong Il eight, and Bush zero,” said Graham Allison, a Harvard professor and author of “Nuclear Terrorism,” who was in Washington Thursday to testify about Iran’s nuclear program. “And if you can build a reactor in Syria without being detected for eight years, how hard can it be to sell a little plutonium to Osama bin Laden?”

So what we’re really looking at here is another case of the world becoming and EVEN MORE dangerous place during the Bush Presidency, than it had been prior.  And with so much focus and resources sunk into the war in Iraq, just like the worsening conditions along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan (which, if you’ll remember is where the terrorists who actually attacked us really hang out), N. Korea and Syria (as mentioned above- only 100 miles outside of the Iraqi border) are increasing their nuclear capabilities.  How’s that for Weapons of Mass Destruction?

Anyone else get that sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Get this.

Apparently, CNN hurt China’s feelings and China’s taking it to the courts. Just like any red blooded American, they’re gonna sue:

Cafferty said the United States imported Chinese-made “junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food” and added: “They’re basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they’ve been for the last 50 years”.

Amusingly, they’ve worked out a sum of $1.3 billion. That works out to $1 per Chinese citizen. Don’t spend it all at one place.

Popularity: 2% [?]